Live from Shanghai

Live from Shanghai...


Well...our last day in China and the photographer is finally posting. You can tell I'm the photographer because Danny has made his way into a lot of photos. :)


Danny has been awesome at keeping the blog up to date and letting me play with my baby. I really can't get enough of her. Our whole family is just loving her constantly. More on her later.

Shanghai:
I’m sure some of you (our family) are wondering why the Heids are in yet another city in China? Well… while booking our international flights our tour guide (umm me) figured out it would be cheaper to fly out of Shanghai on a Tuesday than fly out of Beijing on a weekend. I was really trying to make this work because we have some awesome friends (the Meyers) from our Thunderbird days living in Shanghai. So here we are hanging out with our friends seeing the sights of Shanghai and taking in the last day of our China trip.

We have had an absolute blast here. The Meyers are an American family that have been living the dream...living and working in China for two years. Their kids speak perfect Chinese and they make living here look pretty fun. They have been serving us constantly telling us we are not allowed to help with dinner or dishes so we can spend more time bonding with Lizzie. They have loaded her up with thoughtful China gifts and have made this the perfect end to our China trip.

Here is a sample of the sightseeing that has happened the past few days… We went to the Pearl Market where you can find the fake purses, shirts…everything. We did not need any of that stuff, but we may be on our way back with some $3 Wii games. The Meyers took us to traditional Shanghai food (yum) then we went to the Yu gardens where Joab, Danny and Connor had more food (surprise) Xiau Long Bo which is famous Chinese Shanghai Dumplings (photos later). We also went on a Shanghai River Cruise. The weather was beautiful and the city was breathtaking. Again, photos later. We also got hooked on a TV show here called “Shanghai Rush.” It’s just like the TV show Amazing Race, but it’s locally produced here in Shanghai and it features local foreigners that live here racing around the city. It’s pretty funny.

We saw the “Bund” and the tallest building in China that is built by the Japanese. FYI…China is building a new building right next to it and surprise, surprise, it will become “the tallest” building in China.

Tonight we went to the Shanghai Acrobat Show. I really don’t even know how to explain it. It was 100X better than I thought it would be. It was basically like a live orchestra with opera and people doing amazing things like dancing in the air and riding motorcycles in the inside of a steal globe. Somehow the show all comes together beautifully. Lizzie absolutely loved it. She was mesmerized the entire time.

Now on to the little girl…

It is amazing to see her personality shine through. The first few days after we got her she was kind of in a zombie-like state. She really did not smile without a lot of prompting and tickling. She was crying and morning a lot, which we expected. She missed her nannies at the orphanage and she was not really sure who we were or if we were there to stay. Nights were really tough and there was a lot of crying. We can tell Lizzie is a strong-willed girl, so it looks like she will be just like her brother and we are ok with that! Every day she has opened up more and more and the girl we have today is absolutely amazing. She is full of light, love and joy.

I wish I could explain what she does but it’s something you have to see. She really truly thinks everyone is her best friend. This girl does not have one ounce of shyness in her. She giggles smiles and laughs at anyone that even looks at her. Today we were getting on the subway and the man in front of us looked hot, annoyed and tired. Lizzie peaked over my shoulder and out of nowhere gave him a giggle and a smile. This hard looking Chinese man just melted and started to smile. I really think she has a gift. She does it everywhere! Danny and I are just amazed by this. We gave her the Chinese name Ming because it means brightness and now we understand how perfect this name is for her. She really does literarily light up people around her.

Now…..let’s be honest. We do not have a perfect kid here. She is like an energizer bunny that does not slow down. She has so much energy that we can’t get it all out of her. She hates winding down and going to bed at night and can have a bit of a temper. A few minutes after she melted the man’s heart on the subway she decided she was hot, cranky and teething so she promptly decided to scream, swat at me and bite my cheek. Not fun. She does little pouts when she is upset and for now we think they are kind of cute. Kind of.

I loved having Connor as an infant and witnessing the miracle of a child growing and changing so quickly, but I love seeing Lizzie’s personality instantly where with a newborn you have to wait a bit to see it come through. I once had someone tell me that adoption is an amazing thing, that you will love your child so much and experience a “different kind of love” than you do with your biological children. Well I’m glad that one did not happen!!! There is an amazing kind of love that comes with adoption and guess what?? It’s the exact same love we have for Connor!! Danny and I keep taking about how amazing it is that we could not love her more. Adoption or biological she is our daughter through and through. The love is the same. So now we have what we came for and are about to bring her home.

Looking back at the past month this trip has changed my life in so many ways. Not only because we get to bring home our little girl, but also I am now leaving a culture, a country and people that I dearly love. Some may think it’s strange to love a country where we do not see eye to eye on many things. But how can I not love China, for She has given me my daughter and shown me some of the most loving kind and sincere human beings I have ever met.

I have learned a lot in 30 days. I have learned I can’t judge a country without knowing the people. I have learned that when I used to say, “China is a problem” what I meant to say is that some of the people in the government of China are the problems. Like any country, there is some corruption, but as a whole China is made up of people just like you and me. Families that love their children and have the same hopes and dreams that we do. I have never felt so welcomed, or so safe anywhere in the world. My night ended perfectly as I carried Lizzie on to the subway car a man in his twenties stood up to give me his seat and yelled loud enough for the whole car to hear; “Welcome to China and welcome to Shanghai!”

As I leave China I feel I am leaving a part of my heart here. I am leaving my child’s culture, her language and her people. I am leaving a people I did not even know that I loved a month ago.

As we travel home Lizzie will be traveling on a Chinese passport and an American Visa. She will become an American Citizen the moment the plane touches ground and will have an automatic loss of citizenship in China as China does not allow duel residency. To think that China gives us her best in these beautiful children then allows them to move to countries all around the world knowing that their citizenship will be relinquished, but hoping somehow their heritage will be preserved is astounding.

I believe that giving Lizzie the right and responsibilities of becoming an American is one of the best gifts we could ever give her. There is no greater country in the world than ours, but I will also be sad for her loss of the citizenship of her birth country.

I know we will be back here. We love it too much to say goodbye forever. Last night I was looking at the moon with Danny and said isn’t it amazing that we are half the world away from the US but can still see the same moon? For some reason that gave me a little bit of comfort, that wherever we are in the world we still all look at the same moon.

T-10 hours until plane leaves to JFK. One night in NY then home to Charlotte on Wednesday. We will post more photos when we get back. Love ya all!!